JAMAICA | Fix the Crisis in the Cement Industry says Opposition Spokesman Anthony Hylton

Kingston, Jamaica. September 17, 2024: The Peoples’ National Party (PNP) is today calling on the government to address the continuing shortage of cement throughout the Island and its multiple impacts on various segments of the economy and the society. 

Speaking today on the continuing crisis, Opposition Spokesperson on Investment, Trade & Global Logistics, Anthony Hylton, MP, said, “We are faced with yet another crisis in the cement industry, which threatens the growth of our fragile economy, the several jobs that rely on the housing, hardware and construction industry and the stoking of inflation as a result of domestic shortages.”

Mr. Hylton in his statement referenced the period in 2006, when production of cement was halted due to the release of sub-standard cement into the trade and the subsequent closure of the sole manufacturing plant in Jamaica at Carib Cement, which led to a crisis in the housing, hardware and construction industry and a significant loss of growth in the economy, and with it many jobs.

Commenting further, Mr Hylton questioned whether the time had long passed for a thorough review of the industry to examine if the current production and market arrangement best serves the needs of builders, investors, job seekers and the economy as a whole.

Mr. Hylton shared that a PNP government must be prepared to re-examine the existing assumptions underlying the current market arrangements, with a view to determining the most suitable supply and logistics arrangement that will mitigate the risks to Jamaican businesses, employment and the economy as a whole.

In the meanwhile, the Opposition Spokesman  is calling on the Holness administration and the Carib Cement operators to find immediate solutions to the latest problems at the plant;

This he said has resulted in a shortage of cement, a critical input into the housing, hardware and construction industry which employs well over 150,000 persons, and a solution will eliminate the present threat of closure to businesses and the further lay-off or loss of employment in an already stagnant economy.

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